Are the five wise men of Indian cricket – the selectors  –  going to make a big mistake? If what the media reports suggest is true, then yes, appointing Sachin Tendulkar as captain of the Test team is probably a huge mistake.

Firstly, why Sachin? Is it the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor? MS Dhoni is too inexperienced and young for the longer version of the game. Rahul Dravid has just given up the captaincy. Virender Sehwag is not yet a permanent fixture in the team, and Sourav Ganguly, who in my opinion could probably still be India’s best bet, has fallen out of favour with the selectors. Given India’s obsession with batsmen captains (India’s last bowler captain was Bishen Bedi in 1978), the only person left was Sachin.

Now let me explain why Sachin should not be captain.

'You couldn’t find a stronger and more consistent role model than Kumble'


His unwillingness to think out of the box and experiment: In the recently concluded ODI series against Australia, Dhoni once opened the bowling with Harbhajan Singh, something Sachin would probably never have done. Not that irrational, sensational decisions should be taken, but sometimes, to crawl out of a difficult situation the oft-trodden path may not always offer the solution and the inclination to try something different might just help. Sachin sadly lacks this flexibility and adventurous streak.

His impatience: As was evident in Australia in 1999-2000, Sachin has an obsession with micro managing. He almost always runs out of patience before a plan can work. Test cricket is about patience, not quick fixes. Setting a particular field for a batsman to coerce him into playing a particular shot will work only if you give it some time and wear out the batsmen.

It certainly won’t bear fruit if you walk up to the bowler after every ball and expect him to bowl exactly where you want him to. And most definitely not if you upset the rhythm of your lead bowlers Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan by speaking to them regularly. No batsman at the non-striker’s end walks up to Sachin after every ball and asks him to play in a particular way.

Been there, done it: Sachin has been captain once and failed miserably. His batting seems to bear the brunt of the pressure of captaincy. Why put the fragile paper tigers in danger by putting their main batsman at risk of failing?

Finally, if not Sachin, then who? Well, my answer would be the most successful and dedicated bowler India has ever produced; step up to the microphone Mr Kumble. Having experienced lean patches, injuries, inexplicable omissions and spectacular successes, Kumble is mentally stronger than Sachin. Ian Chappell said once that the team always sports the personality of the captain. And Kumble’s hunger for success, his never-say-die attitude and grit will positively lift the team’s morale and performance.

He may not be as gifted as Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan but Kumble compensates by being a master tactician. And he commands the respect of each and every player in the team and also the opposition. You couldn’t find a stronger and more consistent role model than Kumble.

The Indian selectors should have given Kumble a chance to lead India after Sachin's disastrous stint as captain in 1999-00. There was nobody as experienced as Kumble. He eventually led India for a single victorious ODI against England at Chepauk in 2002 but that was it.

By keeping Kumble away from captaincy, Indian cricket is missing out on the talents of one of its most loyal servants.

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